Lonely Hearts
by rwbybomb21
Summary: Ruby left for a year after months of being ignored. When she arrived back as a legendary, sixteen year old huntress, cold, calculating and alone, will old feelings resurface, or will those around her ignore her again? PyrrhaxRuby request by Jacklyn Frost. review, comment and PM.


**A request from the ever-amazing reviewer and writer Jacklyn Frost. Read her stories, and give that amazing woman a hug...over the internet...with cookies...**

**...shut up and have a cookie (::)**

**This is a world where there are hunters and huntresses, but no bad guys; the most challenging thing team RWBY has to do is fight Grimm.**

(^^^^^^)

Ruby was alone.

It was no secret people found her adorable, but that was all she was; adorable. The same way a puppy or a child would be, she was simply laughed at and 'petted'. She and Blake both had to agree that her being petted was extremely racist.

But nevertheless, she allowed it, all for good fun, of course. She knew none of her friends were racists, but that didn't stop her from keeping her guard up every time one of them rubbed a hand over her ears, or stroked her tail. As a result, she would always freeze up. The others saw this as a means to continue, but it was, usually, Ruby's non-vocal way of saying that they were making her uncomfortable.

But back to topic, Ruby was alone for two reasons; reason one was the fact that her sister spent more time with Blake, and likewise with Blake to Yang, as they both started dating, leaving Ruby in the dark most of the time. The same with her partner, Weiss; she had finally agreed to Neptune's offers of dates, and had now been 'lovers' as she put it, for at least two months.

The second reason was that she was practically ignored by everyone around her except for team JNPR; hell, she had started seeing Nora as she would have Yang, as the big sister she used to be, and Pyrrha as her own partner. Ren was like Blake in a way, and Jaune was like Weiss- always striving for perfection, though without the attitude to back up her nickname Ice Queen.

She would constantly hang out with them as her teammates constantly went on dates; Weiss' grades had slipped from their perfect one hundred to a measly eighty seven, Blake was always distracted by Yang and Yang was always distracted by Blake- it was safe to say that the only person that wasn't slipping in her team was her. In fact, due to her sobering thoughts of loneliness, she had improved, gaining high nineties in her exams and once even a hundred.

Though, she had stepped on a lot of toes, unknowingly, of course, to get where she was; Cardin and his group were none too pleased to be outshined by a kid, and a Faunus no less, and so developed a hatred so deep, it almost border-lined assault.

But her team never questioned the bruises on her face, her friends always looked the other way, and the teachers seemingly didn't care. So she did what she never thought she would do, and it sobered up her team real quick, as well as her friends.

She left Beacon, and worked part-time at _'From Dust till Dawn'_.

She hated that job, and left, taking up a role as a hired mercenary, going from hunter school to hunter school at the small age of fifteen to teach those older than her how to fight the Grimm she had been fighting for her entire short fifteen years of existence.

She had accumulated many names, one standing out as mere legend to even the greatest warrior and becoming a near-prayer for even the most seasoned of hunters.

The...

(^^^^^^)

"_...Shattered Reaper has been seen back in Vale, sparking the biggest city-wide celebration seen in years. The Shattered Reaper, a lone huntress that has been hired to teach at many schools of hunting- such as the famed Atlesian School of Hunting, and Menagerie Hunting Corps- has become mere myth the hunting society all over the world."_

Pyrrha and Jaune lazily turned their heads to the screen of the holographic television mounted on the wall of team WBY's wall, as Weiss, Blake and Yang all looked over, staring with what seemed to be excitement. This huntress was every huntress-in-training's idol. She was a beacon of hope for those who thought they would do nothing to help the world of its' Grimm problem.

Word even got out throughout Beacon that Ozpin was to meet this famous individual later on this evening.

They all put their undivided attention into the newscast as they watched the thirty-something reporter recap the latest events.

"_The Shattered Reaper has not yet been identified, thus leaving her age, name and any definable traits of hers almost unknown." _The camera panned out to show the reporter holding a microphone, and a grizzled, bearded man with dishevelled grey hair and a small scar over his nose standing next to her. _"This man claims to have met her, but cannot identify anything, other than the fact that she wears a cloak of red, and some sort of flower on her side."_

_She passed the microphone over to the man, and he spoke, his voice as grizzled as his beard and his eyes as hard as stone. "Yes, I saw her; I was simply walking down to the Dust retailer, Dust Till Dawn, when I saw her walking in the opposite direction, towards me_." He cleared his throat before continuing_. "She walked past me, and straight around a corner, into some gang territory. I followed her, but she vanished, and I was set upon by gang members." _He shook his head, clearly disbelieving everything he saw that day_. "She came in a red blur, they were all on the ground, groaning and some were even crying; it was a sight to see."_

"_She vanished as soon as she came, but from my quick glance, I estimate her at being around sixteen or seventeen years old." _

The reporter asked the man a bunch of unrelated questions, and before they knew it, Blake's watch began to beep, indicating her and Yang's date.

That was, until those fateful words came on screen, capturing everyone's attention. "_The Shattered Reaper has been reported to have been seen by numerous paparazzi sources and various citizens outside the famous hunting school..."_

"_...Beacon Academy."_

"Blake, we're going-" she stopped when Weiss tapped her on the shoulder and Jaune pointed in Blake's direction.

She was strapping on what seemed to be a velvet black cloak, with a hood eerily similar to Ruby's, and her signature boots. "Well, come on, let's go!" and just like that, she took off running towards Beacon's entrance.

That was when Yang's ever-present smile slipped. Blake had begun acting less of a shut-out and more of a...well, a Ruby. she smiled, cheering her team and JNPR up, she joked, she laughed and she joined in on whatever crazy scheme Yang had concocted that day...

...just like Ruby did.

She hadn't seen the red-themed girl in over a year, and worried dearly if she was hurt or worse. Yang and the others of their team had known it was their fault she left, neglecting her and ignoring her silent pleas for help, but they were too enraptured in themselves.

They all appreciated Ruby enough to leave her bed where it was, and still loved her enough to buy some small things for when- if at all- Ruby came back.

Yang smiled again and dragged a protesting, yet not fighting back, Weiss out of the room, followed by JNPR a second later.

They had to see this.

(^^^^^^)

It was déjà vu all over again for one sixteen year old Ruby Rose- or The Shattered Reaper, as she was called now. There she sat, her hood covering her head, her face pointed to the floor as her Faunus ears picked up the sound of slow and steady footsteps far off, heading closer, the smell of cookies following him.

She knew who it would be.

The door opened, and he looked as dapper as ever; his green suit hadn't changed a bit, except for the small red cloth around his hand- she heard about Ozpin being wounded in a battle with a Beowolf he underestimated and paid the price of his hand being immobilised for several weeks. Eh still had to wear the cloth, but it wasn't to cover up the scar, it was simply out of respect.

Respect, unknowingly, for the person in front of him this very moment.

He simply placed a plate of cookies on the desk in front of her, and a steaming coffee was in his hands in seconds as Glynda Goodwitch walked in next, her ever present frown showing Ruby that she had not changed at all.

He leaned in, "Do you know who I am?" he asked calmly, and Ruby remembered the last time he asked this. _"You're professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy_." Instead of answering like this though, she simply nodded.

"I've heard a lot about you, Miss Reaper..." he looked off to the side, and then leaned in to her again. "Or should I say, _Ruby_?"

Ruby raised her head at her name, but simply said nothing. Ozpin seemed discouraged, expecting a hug or to be tackled to the ground, or some form of joke and playful banter to occur between the two. Even Glynda seemed put off, shuffling in place nervously from her left to right foot, her face set from frown to confused; she knew it was Ruby, but why wasn't she acting like she used to?

"Professor." Her voice was monotone, and it made Ozpin cringe; this was not the Ruby he knew...but maybe that was it; he knew Ruby, but now he has no idea who she is anymore.

"So...you know why you're here, correct?"

She nodded.

"Do you wish to come back to my school, as team leader of your previous team once more?"

Again, she simply nodded, no words being said.

"Well then..." Ozpin, quick as a flash, swung his cane at her head, lightning fast accuracy displayed with strength behind the swing.

Ruby was faster.

She vanished in a cloud of petals, reappearing behind Ozpin with a red and black, serrated edge dagger pressed against his spine.

No one moved for a moment, before Ozpin relaxed and Ruby simply sheathed her dagger, walking towards the exit of the room wordlessly.

"You do understand that you'll have to go through the initiation again, right?" Ruby simply bowed her head in acknowledgement, and vanished.

Once Glynda registered a lack of Ruby in the vicinity, she turned to Ozpin shakily. "What ahs happened to her, Ozpin?"

He simply sighed, shook his head slightly and placed both hands on the table, staring at the uneaten cookies. "I don't know Glynda, but whatever it was or is, there has to be some serious blowback."

He looked at the white-washed wall in front of him. "I hope she's okay, and I hope she can leave past discrepancies behind, Glynda."

She looked genuinely confused. "What are you talking about, sir?"

He sighed once more; he had not told her the reason why Ruby left. "Well, it started off like this, with the cheery girl we used to know as Ruby Rose..."

(^^^^^^)

Walking down the halls, Ruby headed towards Beacon cliffs; Ozpin was sure to be there, overseeing the new initiation, as well as the other students of Beacon, as was customary for special cases such as her.

A few steps later, and a small breath of fresh air, and Ruby was outside and standing on a spring, Ozpin there with Glynda at his side, both wearing solemn expressions until she stood there, replacing them with neutral expressions as the many students of Beacon stood around the cliff, their scrolls all connected to the cameras used a year ago to watch their progress in their initiation.

Amongst the crowd were team WBY, watching with interest at the legendary huntress.

Ozpin spied something he didn't before; a red metal flask that hung on the side of Ruby's belt. This was interesting. Though, he guessed the liquid inside- if there even was one- was probably soda or some form of juice.

He snapped his gaze back at Ruby. Without warning, he simply pressed a button on his scroll, activating the spring she was on without any form of warning, sending her reeling through the air.

Ozpin watched with growing curiosity as Ruby simply spun her body around, spearheading towards the ground, spinning clockwise at incredible speeds.

Then, just as she hit the ground...she vanished, petals in her place, and arrived at the temple a minute later, grabbing what seemed to be a small chess piece- a Queen piece, if she was not mistaken- and decided to walk back to the cliffs. It was the fastest initiation anyone had ever seen, and even though the many students watching didn't get to see any epic fights between hunter and Grimm, they were all satisfied with the huntress merely being there; though they all questioned why she was doing the initiation. They all guessed it was just Ozpin gauging her abilities.

They were wrong.

As Ruby appeared in a cloud of petals in front of Ozpin, her head bowed, she picked up the familiar scent of a familiar Faunus; Blake was watching her, curious amber drilling into the back of her head, and she could feel other Faunus' stares and many human students on her; though she didn't even squirm or shuffle, she simply...stood.

"Well, that is it for today. Miss Reaper will be attending our school as leader of a three woman team, team RWBY. That is all, you are all dismissed."

Now she could hear mutters and whispers, and many Faunus students covered their noses as Ruby calmly grabbed her flask, opening it and taking a massive swig of the contents before closing it again and fastening it back upon her belt.

Blake, a spectator, could clearly smell what that was from her distance; Alcohol.

She simply followed, as did the rest of her team, their new leader wordlessly led them to their dorm, as if she knew where they were going...

(^^^^^^)

Ruby walked through the halls, her old team following her through the corridors and, wordlessly, she opened the door to her old-new dorm, allowing her teammates to spill through the door after her.

Blake immediately walked over to Ruby, standing on her right side, while Weiss and Yang stood there, their eyes wide and mouths open.

Ruby just looked at Blake, and shook her head; her teammates had not changed a bit. Blake standing on Ruby's right was an old thing she used to do whenever Ruby stood in the middle of the room and made announcements.

She didn't need to, but simply show them instead.

Ruby turned around, her back to them, and lowered the cloak off of her head, revelling in her black and red-tipped wolf ears feeling breeze, her red tipped, now shoulder length hair falling out, splashing around her back. Her height had improved, her being the same, if not taller, as Yang, and her bust on par with Blake's.

She turned back around, and watched for her teammate's reactions.

If it was possible, Yang's mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, while Weiss' jaw looked ready to collapse. Blake had a look of disbelief; her idol, The Shattered Reaper, was really Ruby? She...her brain couldn't comprehend this.

"Ruby...?" at least Yang seemed to retain motor function of her mouth despite the constant flapping it was doing.

Ruby simply nodded, and instantly was set upon by Yang, having her face crushed into the girl's chest, her head ruffled and her lungs mashed; well, that was what would happen had Yang had a chance to grab hold of her. Ruby simply sidestepped the would-be crushing hug, watching with amused eyes as Yang toppled to the floor, whining as she got back up.

"Hey, no fair!" she got to her feet again; ready to charge Ruby, before their door opened and in walked JNPR.

"Hey, sorry to intrude guys, but could you tell us where that huntress...went...?" Jaune's eyes landed on Ruby, he instantly felt his jaw drop to the floor. Nora squealed like a pig and charged Ruby, Ruby doing the same thing to Nora that she did to Yang, sidestepping the hug and watching as she tumbled to the ground, whining along with Yang.

Pyrrha looked shocked, and Ren actually looked surprised; this girl used to be so carefree, he could already see the changes she had gone through, but how many of them did she go through, and what happened?

Weiss regained her brain and jaw, and Blake shook off her shock for glee, smiling and simply offering a handshake to Ruby.

"It's about time you got back, is it not?" Blake smiled as Ruby shook her hand.

Her voice, however, was something that made her worried. "Yes, it's good to be back." it was so emotionless, so empty, that she refused to believe Ruby was going to be like this for the rest of her life; she simply put it down to being tired.

She turned her head to the others in the room, and shooed team JNPR out the room. "Come on guys, you can talk to her later; she needs rest."

As soon as she shooed everyone out, except for Pyrrha, due to her being adamant to leave, they all turned back to see Ruby slipping off her corset.

"Damn sis, since when did you get muscles? There's more than I have!" Yang exclaimed at the sheer amount of muscles on Ruby, and Weiss, Pyrrha and Blake simply stood there, gawking, Pyrrha and Weiss with blushes, one of admiration, and one of jealousy.

Yang walked over, about to tell them to turn around, but stopped as she spotted something on Ruby's back. "Hey, Rubes; what's that...?" she ran a small finger over what appeared to be a jagged line that ran down her spine, starting between the shoulder blades and peeling off to the right; clearly an Ursa's paw.

Ruby, slipping on a simple red tank top and some loose fitting jeans, turned around and answered. "A scar; Ursa got lucky."

That was when Yang spotted more dotted around the arms, chest and face. She raised her hand and ran a finger over Ruby's Faunus ears, over a small, straight scar that ran along the tip and down to the base of it.

The other seemed to have an entire chunk torn out, as if something had eaten it.

To change the subject, unwillingly and unknowingly, Ruby walked past Yang and went over to her discarded clothing, grabbing the red and black flash, turning the top and swallowing a mouthful of the contents before shaking it, listening to the telltale sound of it being empty. She sighed, rooting around in her pockets until she came across a bottle; Yang recognized it as whiskey, and all present widened their eyes in shock.

Blake was upon her and grabbed the bottle out of her hands as soon as she saw it, rustling up a look that said _'what do you think you're doing?'_

"Ruby...you drink?" Pyrrha tentatively asked as Ruby turned her attention to her.

She just nodded, confirming everyone's suspicious.

"Since when do you drink? Aren't you under age?" Weiss scolded, her voice angered and surprised all at once. She was eighteen and even she didn't drink; Yang drank on occasion and Blake rarely touched anything alcoholic, Pyrrha never having even touched the stuff, but they were all shocked to learn that Ruby was a drinker.

"Damn, little sis is a drinker! Oh, we're gonna have so much more fun!" Yang exclaimed, quieting at the glares from Pyrrha and Weiss.

Ruby used her semblance to snatch the bottle out of a surprised Blake's hands, opening it and pouring at least half its contents into the flask, leaving the rest inside the bottle and placing it back in her corset pouch; the clinking of bottles that followed indicated there were more, and Blake was not a happy cat.

But Ruby had to have reasons, right?

Pyrrha simply looked at Weiss, and nodded. "So...Ruby; I take it you want to sleep in your own bed?"an odd question, but they all sincerely hoped she would say no just so they could all have a slumber party as they used to, smiling and cheering...before the relationships began, and the neglect occurred.

Ruby just looked at her and shook her head.

"What?" Weiss was confused; if she wasn't going to sleep in her own bed, who was she going to sleep with?

"I can't sleep on my own." The old Ruby would have been embarrassed admitting that, but the new Ruby; there was barely a hint of emotion. "We should go the get some food first; I imagine you're all hungry?"

Yang stared at her in disbelief. "And you're not? Of course we're all hungry! Let's go!" Yang practically dragged Blake, Pyrrha and Weiss out while Ruby grabbed her flask and followed them, shaking her head.

They haven't changed one bit...

(^^^^^^)

The entire cafeteria was quiet, with Ruby their centre of attention; Ruby just walked over to the cook, ordered a steak, and sat down in her usual spot, picking at it while the cafeteria went back to normal, buzzing with talking and the occasional laugh.

She noticed Jaune staring out of the corner of her eye, and Pyrrha blushing whenever she made eye contact. "May I help you, Jaune? You keep staring at me."

"O-Oh...well, I was wondering if you had any stories to share." Nora seemed to perk up at that, smiling radiantly. The rest of her team looked interested as well, all staring with various degrees of worry and amusement.

Ruby simply shook her head. "No, none that you'd want to hear."

Nora joined in. "Oh come on! I bet you got loads of super-awesome stories to tell!"

Ruby shook her head again, nibbling on her steak.

Yang joined in. "Oh come on sis! I bet there's plenty you can tell!" she slapped Ruby on the back, grimacing at the hardness that met her hand, shaking it behind her back as she smiled and continued. "My sis is all grown up! We can hear whatever you got. I'll bet we'd love them!"

That got on Ruby's nerves; her cool, calm composure lost at those words. She turned and glared at Yang, a small shimmer of tears on the side of her eyes as she spoke, her voice filled with poison and malice, and yet choked with sadness.

This look took Yang and everyone around her for six, knocking them quiet.

"I doubt you'd want to hear how I watched an innocent civilian explode for merely being near me at the wrong time; or how you'd want to know how I became a hired assassin, killing many people for simple money to spend. I sincerely doubt you'd want to hear how I watched as the one person who had become my...my...she was important, and I watched her..."Ruby didn't finish that speech; she just went quiet, her face downcast for a second before she made her face blank, beginning to eat her steak as if she had said nothing, and the entire table and cafeteria wasn't quiet, listening to her pain-filled talk.

Pyrrha looked at her with what appeared to be shock, anger- at herself for not spotting this sooner- and understanding, why Ruby drank whiskey to keep the memories at bay.

Speaking of which, as soon as Ruby finished her steak she grabbed her flask, and in one knock back of the metal container of liquid, she swallowed the entire contents, not even feeling a buzz from the alcohol, mainly due to her speed semblance, and her metabolism being, ironically, ten times faster than her actual semblance itself, meaning that as soon as the buzz was there...it was gone.

In her early days, she realised that drinking away the pain wouldn't help a bit, because getting drunk was something that couldn't happen; she needed to forget, and so found a different way- killing for money.

She did this for a time, but even that got boring, so she turned to the last thing she would ever turn to; company. She would pour her heart out to some sympathetic prostitute on the street, regaling her painful past and the horrors she's seen, and if they didn't hate her or look down on her, and actually sympathised with her, or empathised, she would sleep with them, finding comfort in that one moment of loveless primal desire.

She was a favourite among the ladies of the night, even becoming 'friends with benefits' with some of them.

Until Neo came along ;that one two-toned girl be came her constant company for the rest of her days, brightening them with smiles and cheers, making her forget...until a drunk-driver- ironic, right?- smashed into her with such force that she was flung several feet and every single bone crushed.

There was nothing the paramedics that arrived a whole five minutes late could do.

Yang was expecting to escort her drunk sister back to the dorm, and possibly have one of her famous heart-to-heart chats, helping her sister along; her eyes widened the size of saucers when she saw Ruby simply stand, no stagger or sway, and walk over perfectly past the gaping students to the cook, giving him her empty plate, and sit back down again.

"How...?" Weiss was, to put extremely blunt, flabbergasted and impressed at Ruby's tolerance to alcohol at her age.

Ruby spoke, yet again monotonous. "My semblance makes it literally impossible for me to get drunk; a major disadvantage."

Yang looked...sad. "How is not getting drunk a disadvantage?"

Ruby spun her head around, quick as a whip. "Because, _Yang_, there are a lot of things I would rather forget than remember; such as the events that occurred a year ago, to the things I have had to do just to survive on the streets."

Yang visibly winced when Ruby mentioned the 'betrayal' a year ago; it was still a raw topic, even after all these years.

Ruby changed the subject. "So, are you and Yang still together, Blake?" Ruby's voice was still monotonous, but there was something else unheard of before...teasing; there was a teasing tone to her voice.

Blake nodded. "Yeah...we're still dating."

Ruby didn't grow a smile, she couldn't anymore, but instead her voice grew even more teasing. "Cat's do like warm things, after all. Do you purr when she gets 'hot and bothered'?"

That got mixed reactions; shock and embarrassment from Blake, Yang burst out laughing, Ren, Nora and Jaune all stared at Ruby, and Pyrrha and Weiss shared uneasy looks; just how much has Ruby changed?

After Yang's laughter died down, she smiled at Ruby, slapping her back- making the same mistake as before- again, wincing when pain shot up her hand; Ruby seriously was muscled. "Rubes, you've changed for the better; me and you, we're gonna hit the town tonight; Sisterly bonding and all that."

Ruby just looked at her, and hesitantly nodded, still no smile.

Pyrrha had a look...of jealousy; she had feelings for Ruby before she left, hence the 'neglect' of Ruby's bullying issues; she was too busy sorting her own feelings out. Convenient that the day Ruby leaves was the day she was about to tell her of her feelings.

It wasn't like a petty high school girl-crush, either; this was love in the making. Though, it had blossomed fomr a platonic friendship, to a best-friendship, to a crush, and so on.

But, she could still remember the defining moment that changed it from a simple crush with blushes and nervous giggling to love with downright stuttering, red-face blushing and...'Those'... dreams. She'd had to make up an excuse for the wet patches on her bed sheets more than once.

She can remember one of those dreams right now...

...and she sorely hoped she didn't.

(^^^^^^)

It was night in team JNPR's dorm room, and all was quiet; well, except for the snoring of Nora and Jaune combined- he was a snorer, who knew?- and the deafening silence coming from Ren. But somehow, beyond all odds, Pyrrha had managed to sleep.

She really wished she didn't.

She had shot up, her hands unknowingly down her pyjama pants, and her other on her left breast. In shock, she removed her hands quickly, feeling dampness between her legs, and sighing; she hadn't had one of those dreams since...well, never. She had read about them when her parents tried to teach her about 'wet dreams' as they called them, but she had never actually had one...

...well, until she met Ruby. She had been having odd dreams since she was there, such as romantic dates and kisses being shared with the red haired girl, but never so graphic.

To her own surprise, she found herself moving her hand downwards, towards the region between her legs, at just the thought of the girl. This crush was no more, she realised with widening eyes; her parents wouldn't mind, they loved her unconditionally whether she was gay or not, but the issue still remained- this crush had gone, replaced by love. She had never felt love before. Her parents had described it as a burning sensation throughout your body, but the kind that relaxes you, that calms you and sets your heart to relax only to beat faster than it should in the mere presence of that person.

She had resorted, at that moment as she wrapped her wet sheets up in a ball and placed them in the team's community wash basket, that she would tell the lovely little, speedy girl that had captured her heart her love.

She never did get the chance, and when she found out about Ruby leaving Beacon because of something she neglected to find out or look after, she snuck off and wept for an entire four hours, and was never the same polite, cheery girl she used to be, instead of delicate pure smiles, were roughly forced ones.

(^^^^^^)

She was relieved when she found herself smiling absently, and Jaune could feel his jaw tighten in amazement; he could tell her smiles were forced, but since Ruby came back, they were real and unforced. Was there something he missed?

Weiss could see the puzzlement on Jaune's face as she watched Ruby just drink some more of the flask's contents, noting how she would swig it back to the back of her throat, in hope against hope that she would get drunk and forget.

Back to Pyrrha, she noticed her looking down with a red tint on her face every time Ruby and her's eyes connected, and when she looked at Ruby, she saw what she thought was a knowing face; something that she simply could not find acceptable in this circumstance. Whether or not she had just got here, back from a year with clear emotional scarring, she could not allow her to play with other's emotions.

Weiss stood abruptly, only catching Ruby's attention as she downed the rest of her flask, and beckoned with her hands to get Ruby to follow her.

Ruby simply nodded, sealed her empty flask and followed her into an empty classroom.

As soon as Ruby did that, the heiress got dangerously into her personal space, her lips peeled back into a disappointed snarl. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Ruby stared, blankly, clearly not understanding what she was talking about. Weiss clarified. "You know why Pyrrha's looking at you, don't you?"

Ruby nodded. "She has some sort of attraction to me, and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel attracted to her."

Weiss looked taken aback for a second before putting on a questioning face; what she had learnt had really changed things. She spoke this time, careful with her words and softly spoken. "Well, why don't you just ask her out? It can't be that hard, and from what I've gathered from your little outburst before, you've done it before..."

Ruby lost her emotionless face, replaced by extremely minor traces of anxiety. "You don't understand, Weiss; I've seen a lot of things, I've been through a lot of things; relationships aren't my forte."

"But you did it before, you can do it again." Weiss tried arguing her case, but Ruby wasn't listening.

"No, Weiss, I didn't; that all came down to fate and attraction, cause and effect. We practically became friends with benefits before anything romantic; the reason I can't sleep by myself? It's that I'm lonely. I'm scared of being what I am; alone, and a loner." Ruby sunk to her knees, sliding down the wall she walked back into and brought her knees up to her face. "The first time I've ever been scared in nearly a year...I forgot what fear felt like before now..."

Weiss didn't know what to do, but thankfully she didn't have to say anything; Pyrrha had followed them and while they were both talking, she had her ear against the door- when she heard that Ruby was alone her entire life, she just couldn't stand it anymore. She walked through the door, practically hinting to Weiss with her hands and eyes to leave them alone for a bit. Weiss simply looked down at the broken sight of Ruby, and then to Pyrrha, before nodding and closing the door, walking down the hall and deflecting every question thrown at her about Ruby and Pyrrha's whereabouts- well, that was the plan, anyway.

As soon as Weiss left, Pyrrha knelt down next to Ruby and lifted her chin up, smiling sadly at the sight of a broken girl that's seen too much.

"Ruby...?" Ruby simply lifted her head and looked at her, emotionless once more.

"Hello Pyrrha, nice to see you." Emotionless, toneless, monotonous; her voice had gone back to those three things again.

Pyrrha gave a disapproving frown at that, though it was short lived replaced by a mixture of worry and anxiety. "Ruby please, listen to me; you can stop pretending to be..._This_..." she waved her arms as if to showcase Ruby, before continuing. "This isn't you..."

And just like that, the emotionless, alcoholic, nightmare-plagued Ruby, broke down, tears streaming down her face, dripping onto the floor with every second passed.

Pyrrha wrapped her into a one-armed hug, running the other through her long hair, feeling the silky strands fall through her fingers with ease; every time she reached the red tips, she would twirl them through her fingers.

When Ruby had finished crying, Pyrrha did something unexpected; she didn't even think when she did it- spur of the moment, coupled with emotional moments and feelings.

She brought Ruby's head up for the softest kiss she had ever been in; Ruby sat there, stock still, frozen fomr shock for a minute, and Pyrrha sensed this, pulling away quickly and blushing fomr embarrassment.

"Oh...I-I'm so sorry-" she was stopped when Ruby grabbed and pulled her into a searing, heated kiss; filled with love, passion and...want. she didn't just love her, she wanted her. Pyrrha could feel it from the lips moving expertly across her own, form the hands on her waist and back- yet she leaned into it, letting Ruby's hands leave her back to run delicately through her hair.

When they pulled back from lack of air, they were both out of breath, Pyrrha with a red face, Ruby with pink. When they both decide to look back at each other, Pyrrha broke the tension by placing her hand on Ruby's face, running her thumb over a small, two inch wide scar; clearly caused by some sort of knife, but that didn't matter.

Ruby forgot she even had it, and lost her emotionless face altogether, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly.

"So..." Pyrrha started her voice soft, raspy from the receiving oxygen still coming back to her winded lungs from lack thereof. "...what does this make us?"

Ruby opened her eyes, and stared at Pyrrha before doing something she hadn't done for an entire year; she smiled, wide and caring, soft and heavenly, the scars only serving to show even more of her beauty, as opposed to lack of it.

"What do you want us to be?" Ruby had lost her emotionless voice, her tone of monotone gone, replaced by soft caring, love-filled and silk-like, smooth on Pyrrha's ears and heart.

Pyrrha was taken aback, if only for a second, by the smile, but softly smiled herself, her heart fluttering and her stomach performing back flips. "Ruby, I love you." She said it without thinking, and her face grew red again, the strong Amazonian becoming very shy, looking at the ground and mumbling a softly spoken 'sorry'.

Ruby simply lifted her hand out of Pyrrha's ponytailed hair, using it to lift her face; hopeful emerald staring into dull silver eyes, but there was something else; in the entire year Ruby had been away, she had seen horrors, and become, as a result, emotionless; her eyes had lost that shine they had, becoming dull and empty- Pyrrha understood this, and, before her very own green orbs boring into silver, she could see a spark in Ruby's lifeless eyes.

She sincerely hoped she could help that spark along.

"Pyrrha, it's a little early to say I love you back, but after that little...event, we can't just stay friends with awkward tension hovering above us, can we?"S Pyrrha simply looked downcast. "So, how about you, as my girlfriend, pick out a place for us to go on our first date?" every word was silk, and every word got through to Pyrrha's heart, making her feel happy, loved, and a person in front of her, broken and shattered, to love; she felt obliged to make Ruby return semi-normal. And as her first act as girlfriend, she would make sure she would never go lonely again.

Pyrrha nodded, blush coating her face, emerald eyes looking everywhere but Ruby.

Ruby simply kissed her forehead. "You'll get used to the title, trust me."

Pyrrha simply looked at Ruby, looking into those silver eyes.

That spark was growing.

But she could tell Ruby wouldn't return to her old self.

But maybe she wouldn't mind...

She leaned up, and kissed her new girlfriend again, and all the while thinking.

'_Even if I don't fix her, even if I can't stop her drinking, or change her emotionless attitude towards others..._

_...At least I know she'll never go lonely again.'_

(^^^^^^)

**Extra:**

They slept in their newly declared bed; Ruby thought Pyrrha was going a bit fast to move into her dorm with her- they had only been dating for literally a day- but at the same time, she felt content to stay like this forever, with a lovely girl, the same girl, who she loved and knew loved her back. not loved her body, not her stories of pain, loved her.

And she fell asleep, for the first time in a year, with a smile on her face, and no nightmares.

Dreaming of a fair, red haired Amazonian, whom she will always associate with protection from nightmares.

And she will protect her with her life.

(^^^^^^)

**Not my best work, I know, but if you liked it, review, and do as I said before; read Jacklyn's stories, they're brilliant. **


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